In a Valley of Violence

In the old west, it's always about the revenge!

Believe it or not, this is the western version of 'John Wick'. Same storyline except it takes place in the desert of the old west. A man who had enough killing native Americans, is now abandoned everything and heading towards Mexico for a fresh start. But on a way in a small town, he gets into a trouble. After surviving the assault, he goes back to hunt them all and like most of the western film, the end is predictable.

This is not a bad flick, but it was not fresh enough, either its story or the gun fights. With a bunch of decent actors, a decently made film. The characters were limited, the atmosphere was like deserted. So the overall narration was focused on a few characters in it...

The Denton Rapscallion.

In a Valley of Violence is written and directed by Ti West. It stars Ethan Hawke, Taissa Farmiga, James Ransome, Karen Gillan and John Travolta. Music is by Jeff Grace and cinematography by Eric Robbins.

Ethan Hawke plays Paul, an ex soldier accompanied only by his dog, Abbie, who is drifting across the desert towards Mexico. Stopping off in the dying town of Denton, Paul finds trouble that will have consequences for himself and town alike.

Ti West is more well known for his horror ventures, where although divisive in that genre sphere, he can be proud of his success rate. Here he tackles the Western, and true to form, he homages past genre masters whilst unmistakably putting his own stamp on things. Opening...

Western in north-central New Mexico with Ethan Hawke and Travolta

This takes the plot of First Blood and transports it into a Western frame similar to High Plains Drifter with influence from Leones Spaghetti Westerns from the 60s. The town set is the same one used for Silverado and Appaloosa (2008).

People tend to compare it to The Hateful Eight because it came out several months after that film and similarly focused on a limited cast in a stagey production, not to mention features a sly sense of humor. Yet Hateful is the better production due to its wintry setting and originality.

This is entertaining enough in its odd way, however, augmented by a quality score with the theme of dumb or damaged people stuck in the remote Ol...